Should I be applying to "competitive" districts, too? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I have a couple of years of biglaw bankruptcy experience and am a T10 graduate with a 3.44 GPA and a leadership role on a secondary journal. I've started applying to clerkships over the past few weeks and I've received no response. I have been ignoring "competitive" districts (e.g., SDNY, EDNY D. DC) because I feel that applying to them would be a waste of time. Is it worth it to apply there, too? I figure I have zero shot there, but I was wondering if there was someone in my shoes or similar who had luck.

[nixy]

I have a couple of years of biglaw bankruptcy experience and am a T10 graduate with a 3.44 GPA and a leadership role on a secondary journal. I've started applying to clerkships over the past few weeks and I've received no response. I have been ignoring "competitive" districts (e.g., SDNY, EDNY D. DC) because I feel that applying to them would be a waste of time. Is it worth it to apply there, too? I figure I have zero shot there, but I was wondering if there was someone in my shoes or similar who had luck.

What term are you applying for? I feel like it’s an odd time in the hiring schedule to apply right now.

[Anonymous User]

I have a couple of years of biglaw bankruptcy experience and am a T10 graduate with a 3.44 GPA and a leadership role on a secondary journal. I've started applying to clerkships over the past few weeks and I've received no response. I have been ignoring "competitive" districts (e.g., SDNY, EDNY D. DC) because I feel that applying to them would be a waste of time. Is it worth it to apply there, too? I figure I have zero shot there, but I was wondering if there was someone in my shoes or similar who had luck.

What term are you applying for? I feel like it’s an odd time in the hiring schedule to apply right now.

OP here. Both 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

[Anonymous User]

I have a couple of years of biglaw bankruptcy experience and am a T10 graduate with a 3.44 GPA and a leadership role on a secondary journal. I've started applying to clerkships over the past few weeks and I've received no response. I have been ignoring "competitive" districts (e.g., SDNY, EDNY D. DC) because I feel that applying to them would be a waste of time. Is it worth it to apply there, too? I figure I have zero shot there, but I was wondering if there was someone in my shoes or similar who had luck.

I mean, there's no harm or cost in applying to those judges, but I agree with you that you're not competitive for those districts. Have you been getting professors/supervisors to make calls on your behalf? Have you reached out to former clerks who were alumni (either of your law school or your firm) who would be willing to mention you to their judge? For most clerkships, the hardest part is getting your application pulled from the stack. And with your GPA/class rank, there's a possibility that you're getting auto-filtered out on OSCAR. Candidates with mediocre credentials tend to do better with email or paper applications, unless they can get someone to make calls for them.